New York, as master journalist Gay Talese taught, is that place where an elephant fell off George Washington bridge, the monkeys get sad when it rains and a diamond ring worth 25 thousand dollars is still missing in the waters around Shelter Island.
It’s a city of forgotten pugilists, where hotel doormen get whiff of tips not by clothes, but by bags, and where the UFC isn’t yet legal.
For Jiu-Jitsu players, though, competing and winning in New York has been a reality for a long time now.
Battery Park, in Manhattan / Photo: Bruno Ribeiro
Ever since 2008, with the No-Gi Pan, the best fighters in the region have strengthened their bonds with the community, gained admiration from their students and sweat to get IBJJF medals. Ever since 2009, the New York Open has gathered the best from the Gi Jiu-Jitsu scene and drawn the attention of New Yorkers – those people who, according to Talese, blink twenty-eight times per minute, forty when they’re tense.
The 2011 New York Open will be held April 16 at Nat Holman gymnasium at New York’s City College. Sign-ups end this April 9, so you’d best hurry. Before the World Championship in June, this will be your best chance to test your technique, wind and adrenaline on the east coast of the USA.
* And for more curiosities regarding New York read “Fame and Obscurity” by Gay Talese.